CAE Developer at Open Orion, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
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Jul 28, 2026
San Francisco, CA
Jul 29, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A code-first computational engineering role at a small SF-based startup building open-source multi-physics simulation software. The work centers on writing Python to automate simulation and CAD workflows, developing mesh generation and computational geometry algorithms, and building parametric design tooling that spans aerodynamic, thermal, and structural domains. Best suited to engineers who are as comfortable writing algorithms as running simulations.
Senior level · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 490 people in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 130–640
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $190,744 (middle half $167,095–$224,501).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 29, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
No explicit years-of-experience figure is stated at the role level; seniority is inferred from the requirement for professional software development experience and deep physics understanding.
C and C++ appear together as a single familiarity requirement ('C++ or C') — emitted as one skill with C as an alternative.
CadQuery and Build123d are listed as interchangeable examples of programmatic CAD tools — emitted as one skill with Build123d as an alternative.
CFD and FEM are listed as 'and/or' — both are emitted as separate required skills since the posting treats hands-on experience with either as a hard gate.
Cloud/HPC environments appear only under 'Strong pluses' — marked preferred accordingly.
Salary is described only as 'competitive' with no figures given.
The alt SOC (15-1299) reflects the genuinely hybrid nature of this role — it sits at the intersection of scientific/simulation software development and computational engineering, which BLS does not cleanly separate.
Read the full posting
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